Meeting Abstract
Cypriniform fishes comprise over 25% of the world’s freshwater species. These fish exhibit a suite of morphological novelties–including kinethmoid-mediated premaxillary protrusion, a muscular palatal organ, and the loss of oral teeth–associated with feeding and occupy a variety of trophic niches. Diverse morphology within the trophic apparatus provides a biological model with which we can investigate the evolution of complex systems. Prey capture is effected by protrusion of the premaxilla. Are there as many ways to drive this effector as there are targets? We survey the anatomical diversity of the A1 division of the adductor mandibula muscle in Cypriniformes. We interpret these morphological data using a functional lens to characterize diversity in this element of the trophic apparatus. We use phylogenetic comparative methods to reconstruct the evolutionary history of trophic morphology in cypriniform fishes and to investigate the role morphological diversity plays in supporting trophic diversity across this group. Specifically, we demonstrate the early recruitment of protrusile morphology for post-capture prey processing and transport associated with benthic feeding modes. We expect strict suction performance to be constrained by the integration of protrusile morphology with other functional elements of the trophic apparatus.
